Naruto, as in canon, is quite distressed to see the written test, although he isn’t panicking as badly. Hinata isn’t sitting next to him, presumably because the examiner took great pains to not put teammates next to each other, and easily uses her Byakugan to see the answers. Meanwhile, Shino uses his insects to find the answers, and hopes his teammates have thought of something as well.
It’s slightly less than interesting when the teammates have obvious abilities that can be used to find the answers. Here’s my list of my top 5 favorite cheating strategies from canon.
5.Kiba and Akamaru: He puts Akamaru on his head and has Akamaru tell him the answers, in a simple yet effective tactic. 4.Sasuke: Granted, it’s a bloodline limit, but copying someone's motions for writing the correct answers is a simple, yet novel tactic. 3.Kankuro and Temari. Kankuro replaces one of the proctors with Crow, and has him accompany him to the bathroom. He gets caught, but surreptitiously passes the answers to Temari. 2.Team 10. Ino uses Mind Transfer Jutsu on Sakura to acquire her answers, then uses it on Choji and Shikamaru to give them hers. 1.Tenten and Lee. Tenten puts mirrors on the ceiling of the exam room, and uses them to not only see others’ tests ,but also show them to Lee.
Honorable mentions go to Sakura, for knowing all the answers, and Naruto, for having the guts to turn in an empty paper.
The scene shifts back to Naruto, who, unlike in canon, worries about not getting any practical experience if he fails, and realizes that this is a test in which he is meant to be sneaky (although it can be argued that he was panicking in canon, and not thinking clearly).
Naruto goes for something similar to Kankuro’s bathroom ploy, and finds the instructor watching him fairly closely. Once there, he has three clones go out to the library to look up the information. The clones then try to signal Naruto with the light, but Naruto doesn’t look up long enough to notice it. At that point, a ninja arrives, and thinking the three clones were cheating for their students, attacks them with senbons and destroys them. As per canon, Naruto absorbs everything his clones have learned, not knowing this had happened.
Ibiki then reaches the tenth question. To recap, if you take it and succeed, you pass. If you don’t take it, you fail. And if you get it wrong, you are banned from the Chunin Exams.
Naruto soon understands that Hinata is the teammate he should be worried about, and that she is worried about him. Hinata’s concern about him seems likely, but her concern about him failing seems to be more characteristic of the canon Sakura, who, thinking that Naruto can’t face the tenth question, considers withdrawing so that the virtually nonexistent hope of him fulfilling his dream won’t be erased entirely. It seems more like Hinata to believe in Naruto, unlike Sakura, who, at that point in canon, wasn’t that confident in Naruto.
As usual, Naruto speaks first, but out of anger at Ibiki toying with them. He angrily asks if another village’s Kage would let him ban the ninjas from Chunin Exams (an interesting question; I wonder if some of the ninja realized it and stayed silent to thin the more gullible competition), and promises that if, somehow, he’s barred from the exam, he’ll be the first Genin to become Hokage, then fire Ibiki.
This is a telling point of contrast between this fic’s Naruto and canon Naruto. Canon Naruto’s speech is that of a Determinator Idiot Hero (although his intelligence varies based on the severity of the situation and the point of the story; since nobody's life is on the line in the test, he tends to be less intelligent), determined to go forward in spite of whatever might lie ahead of him.
This fic shows Naruto as a bit more cunning, but closer to Anti-Hero level, as he calls Ibiki’s bluff, and while he promises to take the risk, it’s far easier to do so when you have next to no reason to think it’s real. There is, of course, his threat to fire Ibiki once he becomes Hokage if he does so in spite of having remained a Genin, which leads to the question of how he’ll deal with his persecutors on the Village Council. Some say Naruto has Easily Forgiven the village for its mistreatment of him(although he does have some lingering resentment), but doing so is arguably healthier for him and for them than nursing the grudge.
Of course, even if the content of his speech is different, the outcome is the same. No one else leaves, and everyone still remaining passes.
Ibiki provides his explanation, saying that the first nine questions were to test their ability to not get caught, as getting caught can be worse than failing to acquire the information. As for the tenth question, he explains that there are times when you can’t run away from missions, even if the dangers you face are unknown, and that leaders must be willing to do what is necessary.
Anko arrives, comments on how many students passed, and dismisses them until tomorrow. As the rookies’ teachers think about their students, Kurenai’s thoughts turn to Ibiki. With the fic having established that she knows him, it now moves on to how she knows him. He questioned her about the attack on her team while she was recovering, and she only learned later that he was part of the Torture and Interrogation unit, meaning she was under suspicion of murdering her friends and teacher.
Kurenai eventually approached Ibiki, who reveals that things don’t make sense, and too much force was used on too small an objective, but she should only wait until she has ironclad proof before doing anything, lest she lose her life. Kurenai is again grateful that Ibiki is not a sexist like too many others, who seem to be a fairly small, if not practically nonexistent, group in the Narutoverse.
Kurenai worried about whether her parents would suffer if she pursued her investigation, until the news came that they died in a fire, which seems like a tragic and pointless way to kill them off.
As Kurenai notices that the test should be ending, Hayate walks in and, after hearing that they never left the lounge, realizes Naruto’s deception. Kakashi concludes, based on Ibiki’s choice of a test, that they’ve been had, and notices that Naruto is using Shadow Clones. It’s suggested that other clones like Water Clones might be stronger, but there appears to be no significant difference apart from requiring a reagent for their creation.
Kakashi concludes that Naruto used the clones’ ability to transfer knowledge upon expiring, but didn’t realize this when he first learned the jutsu. Perhaps this is a disadvantage of not having a teacher who knows the Shadow Clone Jutsu; Kakashi knows the jutsu, and some of its advantages and disadvantages, but since it’s not the only one in his arsenal, he doesn’t find himself falling back on it very much.
Ibiki approaches Kurenai, and tells her everything he said and did; it’s a nice touch, if not as short and succinct as Ibiki’s slightly amused reaction to seeing Naruto’s page blank. He’s also pleased that Naruto passed near the top, even if there’s no evidence that the scores actually matter; the background Sand Genin who asks about them gets rebuked for even asking how many of the teams they expect to pass, with Ibiki saying that she should only ask if she expects to fail, and Sakura concludes that they need as many points as possible if many teams are getting cut.
Kurenai meets her team at Moritake’s and discusses the exam, which seems a bit redundant given that we not only saw it, but heard people talking about it (a flaw that occasionally pops up with the different POV segments). After the meal, Kurenai meets with Hinata. Hinata apologizes, blaming herself for almost making them all fail, not wanting Naruto to be stuck at Genin for the rest of his life, assuming that with so many people cruel to him, Ibiki had introduced the rule *specifically* for Naruto, and breaks down in tears. I had honestly hoped that Hinata was stronger than this, both in canon and at this point in the fic, since she’d started making steps to overcome the damage her father had done to her self-esteem.
Kurenai comforts Hinata, apparently like her late mother did, reassuring Hinata that she has nothing to apologize for, given that when Naruto assessed the risks and chose to go along with him, she chose to do so with him. She tells Hinata that there is a conspiracy against Naruto, and Hinata immediately asks if her father is involved, mentioning his desire to know more about Naruto’s red chakra (he knows what it is when he sees it during the match between Naruto and Neji in canon, so it’s difficult to tell why he’s so intent on finding out here). Kurenai is reminded of one of her father’s business partners and his daughter, who were poisoned on his daughter’s wedding night while he made an attempt to have her marry upward to help the family socially climb; it’s hard to tell the relevance of the deaths for now, apart from the fact that they were most likely not accidents, and Hiroko might have done it to kill her father and herself, since she prepared the meal.
The next day, Naruto meets with the others at Training Area 44; the Forest Of Death. Naruto and his teammates are a bit apprehensive about the upcoming mission. Naruto again ponders Hinata’s situation and wonders why Hinata seems so unappreciated by her own clan.
Naruto then asks Hinata to use her Byakugan to check him out to see if there’s anything he missed. She points out that he only packed one box of ration bars, and wonders if this would take more than a week, at which point Naruto suggests he can forage food. Naruto can’t help but laugh at Hinata’s attempt to suppress her own laughter.
Anko explains the rules of the test (which, I might add, plays right to Team 8's strengths), the teams set out to their respective gates, and the second phase begins. Shino encounters the leeches that helped enable Team 8’s quick passing in canon, but decides to avoid them, and keep an eye out for the other teams, as the chapter ends.
What I liked
- Naruto’s scheme for the answers was decently done, albeit requiring a fair amount of preparation.
- Naruto showing a more cynical and bitter side of himself in the speech to the examinees.
- Hinata not believing in Naruto.
- Hinata regressing and becoming less confident.
- It's hard to tell what the point of Kurenai's memory of Hiroko and her father's deaths is.
